Supreme Court sides with immigration judges in speech case for now,
rebuffing Trump administration
[December 20, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on
Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with
possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh
expanding presidential firing power.
The decision is a technical step in a long-running case, but it touches
on the effects of a series of high-profile firings under President
Donald Trump. The justices let stand a ruling that raised questions
about the Trump administration's handling of the federal workforce,
though they also signaled that lower courts should move cautiously.
Immigration judges are federal employees, and the question at the center
of the appeal is about whether they can sue to challenge a policy
restricting their public speeches or if they are required to use a
separate complaint system for the federal workforce.
Trump's Republican administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene
after an appeals court found that Trump’s firings of top complaint
system officials had raised questions about whether it's still working
as intended.
The Justice Department said the firings are within the president’s power
and the lower court had no grounds to raise questions. The solicitor
general asked the Supreme Court to quickly freeze the ruling as he
pushes to have the immigration judges’ case removed from federal court.
The justices declined, though they also said the Trump administration
could return if the lower courts moved too fast. There were no noted
dissents. The court has allowed most of Trump’s firings for now and is
weighing whether to formally expand his legal power to fire independent
agency officials by overturning job protections enshrined in a
90-year-old decision.
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The Supreme Court Building is seen in Washington on March 28, 2017.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
A union formerly representing immigration judges, who work for the
Justice Department, first sued in 2020 to challenge a policy
restricting what the judges can speak about in public. They say the
case is a free-speech issue that belongs in federal court.
Ramya Krishnan, an attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute
who argued the case on the union's behalf, applauded the high
court's Friday decision. “The restrictions on immigration judges’
free speech rights are unconstitutional, and it’s intolerable that
this prior restraint is still in place,” Krishnan said.
In recent months, the Trump administration's crackdown on
immigration has included firing dozens of immigration judges who are
seen by his allies as too lenient.
The White House did not immediately respond to an email message
seeking comment Friday.
While the order is not a final decision, the case could eventually
have implications for other federal workers who want to challenge
firings in court rather than the employee complaint system now
largely overseen by Trump appointees.
The decision comes after a series of wins for the Justice Department
on the high court’s emergency docket. The court has sided with the
Trump administration about two dozen times on issues ranging from
immigration to federal funding.
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